JAVELIN STAR AT 52 LATE-BLOOMER ATHLETE LEADS COLLEGE TEAM.

Byline: GERRY GITTELSON Community Sports

In her first season at College of the Canyons, women's track and field standout Linda Cohn has worked her way to No. 7 in the state community college rankings in the javelin.

Not bad for a 52-year-old mother of two who until recently had never played sports in her life.

``It's an incredible story. Linda goes up against these 20-year-old whipper-snappers and beats them all,'' Canyons coach Rick Kauffman said. ``It's really a crackup watching the faces of her opponents.''

Cohn, who's been married for 28 years and lives and works in Northridge as a full-time dental hygienist, is a little surprised herself.

``I suppose it's a bit crazy because I never did anything like this until I turned 50,'' Cohn said. ``When I was younger, girls just didn't have opportunities like they have today. In high school, the only thing I ever did was P.E.

``But thinking back, I was a good athlete and I always enjoyed sports, so this was always a goal of mine.''

Cohn's mother died at 50 from brain cancer. So when the daughter turned 50 two years ago, she vowed to try something to redirect her thoughts away from her own mortality.

The first plan was to train for the L.A. Marathon. Cohn worked hard and finished the race - but just barely.

``I have no aptitude for distance running. It was sheer stubbornness, not ability, that enabled me to run, walk and then hobble to the end,'' she recalled. ``It's true I found a focus, but it wasn't the right one.''

Then Cohn, a lifelong fan of the Summer Olympics, thought track and field would be better - at least the field part. She participated successfully in several events at some Masters meets for participants 50 and older, then was ``discovered'' by Canyons' coaches while practicing at the college.

``Once they found me, the whole thing kind of evolved,'' Cohn said. ``I thought it was a crazy idea to compete against college athletes, but the whole thing sounded kind of unique, so I decided to give it a shot.''

Cohn chose the javelin because she remembered having a pretty good arm in softball a few decades back. She has enrolled in 12 units of classes to gain eligibility at the college.

``Most of my classes are easy, like track and weight lifting, but I'm also taking a class called athletic training, and that wasn't such a good idea because I'm taking tests like crazy,'' she said.

In her first meet at Moorpark College last month, Cohn competed in the shot put and discus because no one else on the team was available, and lost both events. But when the women moved to the javelin, Cohn placed first, and she's been winning most of Canyons' meets since.

Cohn is old enough to be the grandmother of most of her competitors, and she says she's received a few funny looks since the season started.

``At first it was kind of intimidating going up against these younger women,'' Cohn said. ``I guess they thought I was kind of crazy to be out there.''

Cohn, who's 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 120 pounds, is a lot smaller than most javelin participants - especially the 200-pound women who also compete in the shot put and discus.

That's one reason Cohn takes an 80-foot running approach, compared with just a few steps for most of her competitors.

At any rate, it works.

``It really doesn't have to do with anything about size or age. I just love competing,'' Cohn said. ``I just work hard, and it's an incredible feeling. The whole thing has just been a thrill for me.''

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(color) Linda Cohn is now No. 7 in the state community college rankings in the javelin.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer